Daughters, Swords &Dragons

"Behead him!"

"Behead him!"

"Chop it off!"

"He's a traitor!"

"He's a witch!!!!" the people screamed before the king and queen of Alcon with the six princesses all seated and their brother Garth heir to the throne of Alcon.

The queen Weria kept her face as straight as a painting while listening to her husband. "Funny how the emperor prefers to stain your hands with blood than his isn't this the sixth man this month?"

"Seventh."The seventh Prince Garth spoke with a mild chuckle.

The first princess Serafelle sat up straighter in her seat "The blood shed is beginning to give me nightmares."

"I agree I hate the sight of blood. I really can't stomach it, yet I'm forced to be here." the second princess Valdis sighed, shutting her book. "What are you waiting for? chop it off!" she snapped.

And the axe went through the man's neck, his head rolled to the ground, blood spilled on the wooden floor board.

All of them caught their breath. "Why did you do that?" Eris the third princess snapped at Valdis.

"None of you were going to do it anyway. We have better things to do than to sit here and watch people die for no just cause but to please the emperor." Valdis stood adjusting her dress.

"Father, a piece of advice would be to meet with the emperor and warn him of his evil ways."

Weria shot her a look "Silence second princess, or that tongue of yours might be cut off."

Deyanira the sixth princess shook her head "That mouth of yours will get us all killed."

"Then so be it! the emperor's evil ways will kill us all before my mouth does." Valdis huffed while walking out.

The fourth princess Emery made a comment while following her behind "Isn't it strange that a physician can't stand the sight of blood?"

The fifth princess Neera curtsied "Yes, it is hilarious."

REGASUS

Queen weria massage her temples with her finger tips, as she quietly strolled by his side "Those daughters of yours are going to be the death of me."

He smiled "They got all the fire leaving their brother to tend the gardens." He observed his son Garth indeed gardening in the royal greenery from above instead of studying.

The King and Queen were weary as they made their way back to their quarters "I'm worried about the nation." Weria voiced out.

And the king Regasus nodded "Me too. I fear a war is coming, and the emperor will be prone to the war."

Weria knew what she was about to say was never to be spoken aloud but she had to "The princesses are right though. Alcon is the heart of silverston. During the reign of emperor medus dragon bless his soul, your father Alcon Der Vas was the sorcerer who summoned one thousand fleet of dragons and tamed them to bow and serve the emperor."

She paused as the maids undid the pins in her hair and the rich thick waves tumbled down her back.

"Dragons do not serve the Weak. Medus was strong and that is why they were able to unite the six nations.That lazy, drunk, cruel man has weakened his forces greatly." Weria sighed as the valet loosened regasus apparel.

The chamber, all decorated in red carpets, red silk sheets, red curtains, all manner of antiques on the velvet red bed linens for the kings pleasure. The smell of roses overwhelmed the atmosphere.

"The emperor is whom we are meant to protect, even if he is wrong we will not badmouth him. We must only protect him at all cost." he explained as the maids undressed him behind a screen.

Weria sighed "From his own nuisance? I'm not sure he even knows that his son's and the rulers of the six kingdoms have turned against each other. I heard of a dark and mysterious man on the south border Killing women and children."

Regasus was silent, he hated to argue with his wife and so he listened to her continuous rant "The fall began with Gaith the second emperor, he had a little fancy with my mother muria, at the time she was the greatest sorcerer of her era."

The servants poured wine in silver cups and weria took a much needed drink "when my mother didn't return his feelings he humiliated her by ordering her stoned to death in the first market, but that wasn't enough."

They stood facing each other wrapped in the clutches of darkness, only the flickers of candle light highlighted their features as the servants washed them in the royal bath. "He created the church of dragon to turn people away from magic, and when medus the second became emperor he blamed a sorcerer as an excuse to brutally hunt down my kind and had my people annihilated."

Regasus knew how much weria dispised the emperor's family and even if it were buried in the deepest parts of her heart he knew she secretly wished them death.

"Come to me." He demanded and she gently swam to him, his larger hand cupped her smaller cheek soft against his harsh palm he whispered in raw aching need for the woman he loved "Do you regret marrying me?"

Eyes more beautiful than gold stared at him "No...not when you look at me like that." She said breathlessly.

She lied.

The maids dressed them in their bed attire, slowly Regasus took werias hand and they stood by the balcony. "I need to meet with the Emperor, I feel uneasy of late like something evil is coming."

Her facial expression was one of pure torment "You must wish me to become a widow?"

He pulled her to him in a tight embrace "Don't say such a thing!"

She pushed him away, only she dared do such, for his love for her ran further beyond the length of xagadarp sea.

Worry perched werias features "The high palace is a court of death my Lord, many men die there for pleasure these days. The risk of this journey is too much for me to bare!"

He couldn't tell if she was genuinely worried about him or the thought that if he died, she would be left in the den of lions who'd leave her carcass for the vultures to feast as well.

He knew she hated him, for not letting her perish with the family that burned before her.

She hated him saving her.

Regasus squeezed her hand in reassurance "Weria, my love, my one and only first love."

"Don't go...please send him a letter to ease your worry or at least let me come with you." she said desperately "Why do I feel like I might never see you again."

He held her shoulder with his warm hands "Weria if I die protecting the emperor and this nation, then I die."

She shook her head "No. I cannot let you go."

"What if I promise to come back to you?" Regasus smiled.

Her eyes shone brightly. "You must promise me then."

His smile broke her heart, it felt like a vividly real nightmare "I will come home to you Weria but you must not leave the princesses alone here."

"They are the treasures of this kingdom without the heart of the nation intact, the nation will collapse, they are young and reckless; they need guidance." his fingers traced her chin.

Tears brimmed in her lovely eyes the very eyes he fell for in the fields of the morning "There's no nation without Alcon. This is the balance of power of the six kingdoms. If this power falls into the wrong hands it will be disastrous." Regasus explained to her the same things she had been taught when she became his queen.

Weria swallowed the painful lump in her throat "As you wish my Lord."

He smiled, "Now my queen, let's forget our worries, lie with me."

He wiped her tears "A queen must never succumb to tears. Now..." He said and all the servants instantly departed out of sight.

His fingers loosened the already thin night clothing falling the red patterned carpets as he growled.

"...please me, weria."

VALDIS

Serafelle barged into the Valdis laboratory disregarding the "do not enter" sign boldly on the door "Have you forgotten how to knock?" Valdis asked, concentrating on the corpse in front of her.

"What on earth are you doing?" serafall asked, weary of the sight before her.

Valdis was cutting up the flesh of the one who had just been beheaded earlier. "I'm analyzing the anatomy of the cadavar."

Serafelle folded her arms arching a brow, her eyes analyzing the corpus parts hanging from the ceiling, a jar of preservatives real human oculus, gastrointestinal tract and limbs on the table before Valdis.

Large books surrounded her as she worked intensely.

In quick strides Serafelle grabbed the book off the table "Hey, that's mine!"

"Reincarnation?..." Sera frowned then exploded "You're practicing forbidden sorcery?"

Valdis stood up from the stool with a guilty look on her face "What about it?"

"Does father know? Do you know what happens to people who practice forbidden arts?" Sera yelled.

Taking off her apron, gloves and goggles Valdis walked to the drum and washed her hands "They lose their humanity."

Serafelle clenched her jaw "So why are you doing this? the Emperor has given us liberty to use magic because he trusts us to protect the kingdom in dire situations but if he were to find out about this..." she swiped her hand at the display of brutal manslaughter.

Valdis shrugged, toweling her wet hands with a dry cloth. "I do this for research, I've discovered many parts of the human body man never knew, studied them in fact I've made some potions that can heal certain diseases and broken bones."

She picked up a needle and thread "There's no proof that one loses their humanity when studying the forbidden arts and so I shall study it so everyone will stop believing such silly myths."

"This is sick Valdis and you know it, think of how father will feel when he finds out?" Sera hissed in protest.

Valdis shrugged "He won't find out Sera, just like he won't find out that you're not in your right mind."

Sera was overcome with fear "What are you talking about?"

A smirk drew on Valdis lips "You know what I mean Sera."

She took careful strides standing before Serafelle and whispered "I know that you aren't right in the head."

Sera couldn't breathe and the room became even more clustered with the god awful smell of preservatives "Are you threatening me because you know my defect?"

A dark expression crossed Valdis features, she picked up a small clean thick wrap and handed it to Serafelle "I am not such an evil person sera, I can't cure mental illness but this will help you relieve your symptoms. I know you see things that aren't there, hear things..."

She smiled softly, a kind look in her tea green eyes the shade of sunset. "I made the medication by monitoring a deranged dog for a period of time, I tested many things on it and finally got one that relieved its symptoms."

Hesitantly, sera took the wrap from her "What happened to Ray, the mad dog?"

"Oh, he died from an overdose." Valdis chuckled and Serafelle looked at the medication weary. "I was testing how much the human body can handle. Now, I know once a day is enough, you should be alright if you take one everyday. That's a year's supply."

She hugged Valdis before thinking with a smile on her lips "You're so kind Valdis."

Valdis chuckled "Well you are my sister I want you to be well and I don't want to marry the prince."

Serafelle chuckled; she always wondered how Valdis managed the place to be so clean, especially her dresses which were always white.

Not a spot after all that blood the only thing was the smell but she was sure Valdis was too used to it and she herself always smelled like sunflowers "You are amazing Valdis."

Valdis beamed moving back to her table "Oh, I know I am, I just need to create something that can poison an entire army by inhaling to prove it."

"Do their spirits not worry you?" Serafelle asked looking Valdis in the eye.

Forcing a smile on her face Valdis spoke "Not necessarily, physicians don't believe in ghosts."

Sera nodded with a slight bow which Valdis returned with a bow of her own the doors opened on their own a proof of Valdis growing knowledge in sorcery.

It was a challenge and Serafelle would not leave defeated she noticed the worry in Valdis bottomless eyes.

"Be careful Valdis." She paused at the door and Valdis hold tightened on the needle it held trying not to disrupt her suture.

"There are many dark spirits in this room."